Latest United Nations News

UN chief warns of 'gates to hell' in climate summit, but carbon polluting nations stay silent

Sep. 21, 2023 11:51 AM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of the United Nations warned Wednesday that the “gates to hell” are at hand as climate change intensifies, and top international officials said the world's leaders still aren’t doing nearly enough to curb pollution of heat-trapping gases. They pleaded with...

Congo's president wants the large UN peacekeeping mission to start leaving the country this year

Sep. 21, 2023 11:22 AM EDT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Congo’s president wants the world’s second largest United Nations peacekeeping force to move up its departure from the country, starting this December, saying it has failed to rein in conflicts in the country's east. President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi in...

England and Arsenal player Leah Williamson calls for equality in soccer

Sep. 21, 2023 08:16 AM EDT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — When England soccer player Leah Williamson addressed the United Nations in New York this week, she spoke of her recent visit to Za’atari in Jordan, the world's biggest Syrian refugee camp. She spoke of the power of sport — soccer in particular — to...

Top US Air Force official in Mideast worries about possible Russia-Iran 'cooperation and collusion'

Sep. 20, 2023 23:39 PM EDT

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's supplying of bomb-carrying drones to Russia could see Moscow help Tehran's program become more lethal, raising risks across the wider Middle East, the top U.S. Air Force commander in the Middle East said Wednesday. Lt. Gen. Alexus...

UNGA Briefing: Permanent observers, more Security Council and what else is going on at the UN

Sep. 20, 2023 21:29 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — It's Day 3 of the U.N. General Assembly high-level meeting that brings world leaders together at U.N. headquarters in New York. Here are the highlights of what happened Wednesday at the U.N. and what to keep an eye on Thursday. Follow our live updates to keep up with...

Ukraine, Russia and the tense UN encounter that almost happened — but didn't

Sep. 20, 2023 20:50 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — It was a moment the diplomatic world was watching for — but didn't get. In the end, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov avoided staring each other down Wednesday across the U.N. Security Council's famous...

Behind all the speechmaking at the UN lies a basic, unspoken question: Is the world governable?

Sep. 20, 2023 19:04 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Work together. Go it alone. The apocalypse is at hand. But the future can be bright. The squabbles never cease, yet here are human beings from all across the world — hashing out conflicts with words and processes, convening under one roof, trying to write the next chapter...

Ukraine's president, at Security Council, lashes out at Russia but avoids face-to-face encounter

Sep. 20, 2023 19:01 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukraine’s president accused Russia of waging “a criminal and unprovoked aggression” that undermines all norms of war and the U.N. charter Wednesday at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Volodomyr Zelenskyy also urged world leaders to strip Russia of its veto...

Gates Foundation commits $200 million to pay for medical supplies and contraception

Sep. 20, 2023 16:30 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $200 million to help save the lives of mothers and children during childbirth, as the largest American philanthropic donor throws its weight behind the issue during the nonprofit's annual Goalkeepers conference on the sidelines of...

Communication outage hits flood-stricken city in Libya, further complicating search efforts

Sep. 20, 2023 15:12 PM EDT

CAIRO (AP) — A day-long communication outage in a flood-stricken city in eastern Libya further complicated the work of teams searching for bodies under the rubble and at sea Wednesday. The country’s chief prosecutor, meanwhile, vowed to take “serious measures” to deliver...